Articles Posted in Aviation Accidents

A San Diego jury has awarded more than $55 million in a California wrongful death lawsuit filed by the families of four U.S. Marines killed after their helicopter struck a utility tower at Camp Pendleton. According to a Sept. 3 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, jurors decided that San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), owners of the tower were negligent because they did not install safety devices such as lights or ball markers to prevent aviation accidents.

The four Marines who died in the helicopter crash were: Capt. Adam E. Miller, 29; 1st Lt. Michael S. Lawlor, 26; Staff Sgt. Lori A. Privette, 27; and Cpl. Joshua D. Harris, 21. The jury reportedly determined that SDG&E bore 56 percent responsibility for the fatal collision that occurred on Jan. 22, 2004, when two Marine helicopters were conducting training exercises at night.

I find it inexcusable that SDG&E knew about the hazard their utility tower posed to aircraft, especially helicopters, but didn’t follow the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommendations to install safety devices so pilots can see the utility towers at night. Attorneys representing the Marines’ families said that the crash would not have happened if the Marines had been able to see the towers and that the utility company put profit ahead of safety by not fixing the problem.
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Officials believe a San Francisco helicopter crash has killed eight firefighters and one pilot involved in battling a wildfire in Northern California. According to an Associated Press news report, the Sikorsky S-61N helicopter was destroyed after it crashed in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Officials have still not been able to pinpoint why the accident occurred. Four others who were in the helicopter suffered severe burns. Two are in critical condition.

Some of the firefighters, including those in the hospital, were reportedly employed by firefighting contractor Grayback Forestry, based in Merlin, Oregon. The helicopter was owned and operated by Carson Helicopters Inc., a Pennsylvania company whose firefighting operations are based in Grants Pass, Oregon.

There are several possibilities for what went wrong and who is responsible for this fatal helicopter accident. Officials are still trying to recover the bodies of the helicopter accident victims from the wreckage. Please keep the victims and their families in your prayers.

Many questions arise out of this incident. Was this a pilot error? Was it an air traffic controller’s error? Was it a maintenance issue? Or was it caused by a defective part? The injured men will get their workers’ compensation benefits. But they and their families will also find out that the benefits they are entitled to through California’s workers’ compensation system are embarrassingly low.

If this helicopter accident and the resulting injuries are the fault of a third party, the injured and the families of the deceased will be entitled to the full measure of compensation – as much as 20 times what the workers’ compensation system will provide. A third party would be the pilot, air traffic control, spotters, whomever was responsible for maintenance of the helicopter and so. A third party is pretty much anyone other than an employer or co-employee.
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A Flagstaff, Arizona aircraft accident about 130 miles north of Phoenix, between two Bell 407 medical helicopters has killed six people and seriously injured a nurse, according to a report in The Examiner.com.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairman Mark Rosenker stated this was the ninth accident this year involving emergency medical service (EMS) aircraft and called it a “disturbing trend.” An NTSB spokesman said EMS helicopter accidents accounted for six of the nine accidents this year and have killed 16 people.

Capt. Mark Johnson, a spokesman for the Flagstaff Fire Department said the helicopter collision happened between one helicopter coming out of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and another from the nearby community of Winslow. Both were carrying patients to the Flagstaff Medical Center. Air Methods from Englewood, Colorado and Classic Helicopters of Woods Cross, Utah were reported by the Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) to be the respective owners of the aircrafts.
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A Catalina Island helicopter crash has claimed the life of Emeric Maillet, a 33-year-old pilot and two passengers while seriously injuring the remaining three passengers. According to a recent KTLA news report, the Eurocopter AS-350, operated by Island Express, went down
near the Banning House lodge at Two Harbors.

Tania Hurd, a culinary arts teacher at John Burroughs High School in Burbank was believed to be one of two passengers killed. The other victim is said to be a male employee of Island Express. Officials are using dental records to help establish the identities of the victims
This is truly a horrible tragedy and I offer my condolences to the families of the victims.
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